With years gone by, unboxing a new Panasonic TV has never filled us in-store with a great amount of excitement. The brand has not been at the forefront of technology like they have been in previous years and upon opening the box this year we were incredibly surprised. The Panasonic TX49FX700B comes in three sizes – 49”, 55” and 65” varieties. The TV itself is lavished in brushed stainless steel all over from the TV bezel to the adjustable end feet and the remote control creating a premium finish which really does make this set stand out.
Upon piecing the set together and connecting it up, we were greeted by an incredibly bright screen with rich, vibrant colours and a level of clarity that you can only find on a 4K screen. This is a pleasant change from previous years where Panasonic screens have always had a slightly washed out appearance and a lack-lustre colour representation. When going through the set up procedure, everything is clear and easy to follow. From the initial setup of the aerial, to the connection and updating of software on the Internet, It is all guided through on screen instructions with clear commands and prompts to make it as easy as possible.
You may be asking yourself, what extras do I get for jumping up to the FX700 range? The answer is a big jump up in processing power and the addition of a Studio master colour processor, localised dimming and HDR10+ support. These work seamlessly together to give an incredible increase in viewing satisfaction. With colour and shadow detail being as the film director intended them to be, your movie nights will be brought back to life and you’ll find yourself thrown back by explosions and immersed in the emotion portrayed on screen.
For day-to-day viewing, Panasonic have armed the FX700 with Freeview Play, allowing you to find all of the content you love to watch in one easy to access place. This combines your regular TV guide with up to seven days catch up services at your fingertips. This, alongside the upscaling technology provided by the set, strives to improve any image that is shown on the screen to a level that will really amaze you on a daily basis. There is also a quick access button for Netflix that promises to keep the content you love right at your fingertips and with Netflix streaming in Ultra HD you really can get the most out of your latest purchase.
Continuing with Smart-Tech, Panasonic has kept everything as familiar as they possibly can, with most of the buttons on the remote staying in the same place as previous years and the smart engine remaining with Firefox. This once again keeps the feeling of the set very much one that you will be familiar with if you have used Panasonic in previous years. However, they have added a very nice quick draw bar that pops up at the bottom when you first hit the ‘HOME’ button for the apps you love to use. Having it appear lower down on the screen also helps to reduce the amount of intrusion into the picture if you have accidently pushed it. This is rather than in years past in which it would appear bang in the middle of what you were viewing which would really start to grate on you after a few accidental pushes.
As always, the set boasts a whole range of connectivity options, with Wi-Fi built in and the option of a hardwire Ethernet cable, alongside three 4k Compliant HDMI connections and three USB. For audio, you can use either a HDMI ARC (located on HDMI2) or an optical connection, which is available on the rear of the set as well. In addition to these features, if you are combining this TV with a Panasonic branded appliance then you will have the ability of using the Vierra Link feature which will automatically turn off/on connected appliances and enable you to use the TV remote to control these devices with ease.
For further information, please visit your closest Hughes store for an in-store demonstration, view online or use our click and collect service and pick your new TV up from your nearest store from as little as one hour after ordering online.
